Platform type sole



June 19, 1951 A. E. KLEVEN PLATFORM TYPE sou:

Filed June l, 1950 INVENTOR.

BY ,W/W @M 4 Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLATFORM TYPE SOLE Arthur E. Kleven, Augusta, Maine Application June 1, 1950, Serial No. 165,421

This invention comprises a new and improvedshoe of the platform type and a novel platform sole or shell which is the distinguishing feature thereof.

Platform shoes as heretofore made have usually included a platform sole of solid material, of substantially uniform thickness, throughout, and of the same thickness as that of the exposed edge face of the platform. Such soles have been constructed of cork composition, sponge rubber, multi-ply felt and other fibrous or cushion materials, and have therefore been a costly item for the shoe manufacturer and an objectionably heavy element in the finished shoes. However, platform shoes have taken the public fancy and are demanded by wearers in great numbers.

I have discovered a platform sole construction which at once makes available a lightweight platform at reduced cost and facilitates a wide range of variety in color, style, texture and finish of the shoe in which it is incorporated. Not only has it these advantages, but it simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacturing shoes of the platform type by reducing the number of manufacturing steps and the skill heretofore required of the operator in properlylocating the platform in the bottom of the lasted shoe. 4

In one aspect the platform sole or shell of my invention comprises a sole blank having an upstanding self-sustaining wall secured about its marginal edge and surrounding a sole-shaped area. The upstanding wall includes in its structure a core and a covering binding strip which has a textile tape secured to'its inner edge. The binding strip securely binds the wall as a whole to the edge of the sole blank. For this purpose the outer portion of the binding strip may be secured to the lower face of the sole blank while the textile tape is brought down and adhesively secured to the inner or upper face of the sole blank. Preferably and as herein shown, the

textile tape is secured to the binding strip by zig-zag stitching, but the precise manner of securing it is of secondary importance so long as it makes a smooth and continuous union with the body of the binding strip.

It has been found in practice that the tape lies flat and smooth upon the surface of the sole blank and may be easily and securely bonded to it by cement. In this respect it is superior to leather or other material having a finished facing. It is, moreover, usually cheaper than the material used in the body of the 2 Claims. (on. 36-25) binding strip which is conspicuously exposed in the finished shoe and'therefore must be selected with careful consideration of the style and finish of the shoe. The advantages incident to the textile section of the binding strip more than offset the expense of. incorporating it in the strip. Having completed the novel platform sole or shell of the character described, the lasted upper may be pressed into the shell thus provided making a snug fit within the wall and being frictionally engaged thereby. The platform shell may be secured in the shoe bottom in any desired form but preferably by cementing the outer face of the lasted insole to the inner or upper face of the platform sole with the interposed textile tape between them; that is to say, in the finished shoe the tape is cemented both to the insole and to the sole blank of the platform shell. These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in perspective on an enlarged scale of the binding strip,

Fig. 2 isa fragmentary view in section show-- ing how, the binding strip is attached to the margin of the sole blank, a

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the platform sole or shell showing a portion of the binding strip pulled away from the sole blank,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the binding strip, and i Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing in section a portion of the completed shoe.

The preferred form of binding strip for making the novel platform sole or shell of my invention is well shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It comprises a core III of stiff but flexible ribbon-like material. This may be formed of several plies of strong tough paper, or from fibreboard, or from other fibrous material having the desired flexibility and resistance to cracking or breaking in wear; In one satisfactory form the core is about in depth and 1 in thickness. and is made up of a fibrous composition readily available as insole material in the industry. The core I0 is enclosed in a flexible cover of thin leather or plastic or textile material. one face of which has been coated with an adhesive which may be activated by heat or pressure in forming the binding strip. The binding strip is supplied to the shoemanufacturer in the form shown in Fig. 1, that is to say. the outer portion ll of the cover is adhesively attached to one face 01' the a 3 core and extends beyond it, while the inner portion I! of the cover is adhesively attached to the other face of the core throughout aportion only of its depth and is then folded upwardly so that a portion of the core is exposed. It will be seen that the binding thus provided presents one surface which is free of adhesive while the other face of the binding, as'indicated by stippling in Fig. 1. has a coating of latent adhesive. This permits the binding strip to be wound in a coil for distribution without blocking.

In constructing the platform sole or shell. a sole blank It is prepared which is substantially identical in shape to the insole or the bottom contour of the lasted upper with which the platform sole is to be used. The exposed portion of the core I is then brought progressively into contact with the edge of the sole blank ll, disposed at right angles thereto and in flush relation with the outer face of the blank. As this relationof core and blank is progressively established, the lower margin of the outer portion ll of the binding strip is folded inwardly and adhesively attached to the bottom face of the sole blank; Simultaneously the lower margin comprising the tape I! of the inner portion ll of the binding strip is conformed and adhesively secured to the upper face of the sole blank as indicated in Fig. 2. The binding strip as a whole is thus securely attached to the sole blank and provides an upstanding wall which is stiff, somewhat resilient and self-sustaining. and which encloses a sole-shaped area accurately determined by the contour of the sole blank It.

In Fig. 4 is shown a portion of the cover strip employed in making the composite binding strip. As herein shown, the body ii of the cover strip may be'of leather or other equivalent sheet material having a finished facing of ornamental character. To this is united a textile tape it by a line of conventional zig-zag stitching. The line of connection between the body portion II and the tape i3 is such that the adhesive union betv. een the sole blank and the binding strip is formed entirely in the textile tape, while the tape may or may not extend a short distance ing strip accordingly cemented to both the insole l1, and the sole blank II. The upper II is herein'shown as cement lasted to the insole but it will be understood that any conventional lasting procedure may be followed; that is, the upper may be tack lasted, cement lasted, or lasted with any combination of tacking and cementing and this composite binding strip may be attached to either or both flat facesof the sole blank. The shoe is completed by attaching an outsole II to the outer face ofthe sole blank IS. The outsole may be attached by cement or in any other desired manner.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a platform sole, a sole blank and a binding strip disposed against the edge face of the sole and providing a stiff resilient upstanding marginal wall and including in its structure a flat ribbon-like core of tough pliable fibrous material engaging said edge face of the sole, and

an enclosing cover comprising a strip of sheet leather adhesively secured to both faces of the core and extending continuously over its upper edge and downwardly upon its inner face, and a textile tape secured to the lower edge of the inner portion of the leather strip by zig-zag stitching at one edge and having its other edge portion extending inwardly at right angles to the core and adhesively attached to the upper face of the sole blank.

2. A platform sole of the character described in claim 1 further characterized in that the part of the cover which is adh'esively attached to the upper face of the sole blank is supplied entirely by'the textile tape.

ARTHUR E. KLEVEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,134,259 Moore Oct. 25, 1938 2,526,925 Atlas Oct. 24, 1950 2,539,364 Dimond Jan. 23, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 543,084 Great Britain Feb. 9, i942 

